The Vagabond
by flutterbybutterflyx
Summary: AU: Amber's life goes from being perfect to being in ruins, she is lost until someone from her past shows up to set her back on the right path {Rated T for edgy themes}
1. Chapter 1: The Notice

Amber is living the dream but that may not last for long

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**The sharp knife of a short life, well,  
I've had just enough time  
so put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls  
what I never did is done  
**If I Die Young, The Band Perry

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"I want red here, with white there and frilling all around the hem, low cut neckline with a lace panel" Amber Millington's voice echoed across the studio. Amber's studio had opened just under a year ago and as she had always aspired to be a fashion designer, she was living the dream. All around the workshop there were mannequins wearing Amber's designs. She had designed her best friend's wedding dress and done various other customizations of clothing but Amber's main problem was that everything she made was one of a kind, and there were very few people buying.

"Miss Millington!" her assistant called across the room "There's someone here to see you" Amber loved visitors. She enjoyed showing off her work to people even if they weren't buying but this visitor was one that she didn't want to see.

"Hello Miss Millington," said a man in a pinstripe suit looking down at her. He was carrying a clipboard and was holding a pen. Amber recognized him "We need to have a talk"

Amber knew that this day was coming but she hadn't expected it to be this soon,

"What do you want to talk about" Amber asked although she already knew what the response would be.

"Don't be naïve Miss Millington" the man replied "You know why I'm here. One year ago you borrowed money from us to open this fashion house; we are yet to receive payment back"

"I'm sorry, the business just hasn't taken off yet" Amber replied

"After a year enough money should have come in for you to at least pay off half of your debt"

"I guess fashion just isn't profitable" Amber replied sheepishly

"Well in that case we have no other option" the man said "we will have to repossess this building"

Amber's head fell into her hands "Fine" she finally agreed but it was with struggle. Amber lived above the workshop and as her parents had rejected her; she was homeless.

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thanks for reading, more chapters will follow, feel free to review :)


	2. Chapter 2: Underneath the Bridge

What happens after Amber is evicted from her flat- innuendo and introduction of some edgy themes

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**Tell my love to wreck it all  
cut out all the ropes and let me fall  
my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my  
right in this moment this order's tall  
**Skinny Love, Bon Iver

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Amber walked along the street in the rain, with nothing but a duffle bag. The rain was getting heavier and Amber was getting wetter. She spotted the bridge up ahead, for tonight; she thought that it would be her best bet. She hurried towards the bridge where other people were already gathered. There were fires burning in old dustbins with around a dozen people surrounding it, trying to keep themselves warm.

"Who's this Straggler" a middle aged man said with a deep croaky voice while making eye contact with Amber

"I don't mean to intrude" she answered back politely "but I've just been evicted and I need somewhere to stay tonight"

"Well, you can't stay here," the man croaked back "this here plots already taken"

A woman who appeared to be the same aged rolled her eyes at him before proceeding with "Don't listen to Dave, he's been embittered by all of these years on the streets and besides it'll be good to get a little youth amongst us oldies" she smiled which provided Amber with a little comfort. For now she felt she could trust these people but she wasn't entirely sure.

"What age are you?" one man asked roughly.

"I'm 23" Amber replied

"I like them young" one man replied

"Yeah, me too" said another "they make easy targets"

Amber suddenly felt lost again, she was uncomfortable being with these people and she knew that life was going to be different now. Life on the streets can do terrible things to people, after being there, your life will be transformed and not for the better.

Amber sat down against the wall and the men who she believed to be Dave, Zac and Brick, Brick wasn't his real name obviously but that's what he seemed to be called, congregated in a circle and began to whisper

"So which one of us will shag her first" she heard one say although unsure as to who, she tucked her head into her knees to try and block out the world. Amber's Life was different now and she knew that but she hoped that she wouldn't be like this forever, that she would get back on her feet someday. She prayed that night that things would get better, but by now she was sure that no-one was listening, if they was she wouldn't be stuck in a place like this fending for her life.

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	3. Chapter 3: Circumvention

After a week of living under the bridge what will Amber find. Warning- some derogatory language, use of drugs, mentions of and pre sex but there's nothing graphic

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**I need some distraction  
oh beautiful release  
memories seep from my veins  
let me be empty  
and weightless and maybe  
I'll find some peace tonight  
**Angel, Sarah McLachlan

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Amber's body was sore all over, high school relationships were meaningless now, and she had to learn to grow up fast. She had expectations of what grown up life would be like but now as an adult she wasn't a big fan of what she was experiencing. 'Some people get life so right,' she thought to herself, 'it's just a shame that I'm not one of them'. All around her, used protection was lying, with white powder speckling the ground. Amber's nose was still prickly from last night's inhalation.

Her life was in tarnishes; no wonder her father had denied her the opportunity of fashion school years ago, whenever he finally gave in he said;

"Don't come crying to me when it all goes wrong"

It was almost as if he knew that this was going to happen to her; that fashion wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Not all fashion designers succeed and Amber knew that she just thought that she could have been the one.

Amber heard footsteps coming towards her, she looked up and saw Zac standing there, holding a contraceptive in his hand,

"Let's get on this" he said, grabbing Amber tightly and pulling her closer so they were touching. It wasn't pleasant being this close Amber could smell the drugs off him, the smell of marijuana hovering on him all the time

"No" Amber said aggressively, forcing herself away from Zac's hold but he still had tight grip on her arm and reeled her in even closer.

"Feisty one you are" he sneered as he attempted to toy with her waistband. Amber was adamant that this beast of a man was not going to reel her in, she looked around to find somewhere to escape too, she could see at one corner several people inhaling cocaine and injecting heroin, Amber had had enough drugs pumping around her body to last her a life time, she turned her head more and saw an exit. That's where she would head.

Amber thrust her knee upwards, maiming Zac so that he fell on his knees in agony. This gave Amber time to run and grab her duffle and make her way swiftly out from under that bridge, she knew she must never go back there.

"The stupid slut got away" she heard someone shout but she didn't turn back. As she ran she made her way to an alley way that she had walked past numerous times on nights out, here she knew she would be alone.

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thanks for reading, feel free to review if you enjoyed it :)


	4. Chapter 4: A Familiar Face

Amber comes across a familiar face while on the streets

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**People have the right to fly  
And will when it gets compromised  
Their hearts say "Move along"  
Their minds say "Gotcha heart"  
Let's move it along  
**Wheel, John Mayer

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The rain was slamming down on Amber's cheeks as she pulled her sodden blanket up closer. She missed whenever she could go out on a Saturday night like all the girls she saw running barefoot on the puddle clad pavement, screaming as they ran, and the occasional one turned to stare at her as they passed. That used to be Amber; scared that the rain would ruin her hair, but now she had so much more to be afraid of and she had overcome her fear of the rain long ago.

As Amber turned her head she saw a group of boys walking towards her the ends of their cigarettes lit up with the smell of nicotine flooding the alley. She could see a blade glistening in one of their hands so she slowly and carefully got up and quietly made her way out of the alley way, but they saw her. She sprinted down the road and they chased her, she lost them for a while but she knew they would find her again. As she ran further she was soddenly brought to a stop when she ran into someone, she was terrified as to what they would do to her, normally she just took whatever was coming to her but knives really frightened her.

The persona in front of her turned around and to her surprise she recognized his face.

"Amber?" they said

"Alfie!" she shouted as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

"What are you doing out this late?" he asked "do you need a ride home?"

"That would be nice," she said "if I had a home" she muttered under her breath but Alfie still heard her.

"Amber" he said stunned "Are you serious?"

Amber didn't reply she just stared at the ground trying not to meet his gaze.

"You can come home with me" he said, "the apartments not big but I'm sure I can make room"

Amber nodded and took his hand as he guided her up the road.

"How long have you been living like this?" he asked her as they approached his car.

"A couple of weeks" she replied gently sitting down, this was the most comfort that she had experienced in a long time. She felt Alfie grab her hand as she closed her eyes.

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Thanks for reading, I hoped you enjoyed it feel free to review :)


	5. Chapter 5: Something Different

following up to Amber and Alfie meeting

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**You're broken  
Let me make it better  
Glue you back together  
Just give me a try  
*** Perfect, Travis Garland

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When Amber awoke the next morning she found herself lying somewhere soft and as she opened her eyes she appeared to be in a living room,

"Sleep well?" a voice came from behind her startling her slightly, it was Alfie.

"Yes, Thanks" she replied wearily sitting up on the sofa. She turned around to see Alfie sitting at the table eating a cold slice of pizza which she presumed had been from lunch yesterday which would be typical of Alfie. He had grown up so much since she had last seen him; she could tell he had been to the gym as his arms were in good shape. She could see why she liked him so much in her youth.

"I'm just heading out to work now" he replied, "but feel free to stay and watch TV or something" Amber nodded in understanding and watched as Alfie left, she wasn't really in a mood to do much so she took up his suggestion of watching TV. Oh how she had missed the sound of white noise echoing through the room. She lay down again keeping her eyes on the set but she wasn't really concentrating to what was going on after a few hours she fell asleep again. She remained semi asleep until she heard a fumbling at the door. She sat up and adjusted herself as a flustered Alfie walked through the door, he paced for a few seconds before he turned around to see Amber sitting there and he leaped back with fright.

"You," he yelled "Get out of my apartment now" as he said this he picked up a rolling pin from the kitchen.

"Alfie?" she said fearfully

"How do you know my name?" he said taking a step away from her and holding the rolling pin tighter.

"It's me Amber" she said softly "put down the rolling pin" but it didn't do any good he started to edge towards her so Amber got up and slowly made her way to the door, keeping her eyes transfixed on Alfie. He stopped suddenly and blinked three times.

"Amber, where are you going," he asked "We haven't had dinner yet" Amber knew something was wrong with the Alfie she had just seen, this was an Alfie that she had never seen before, she didn't want to tell him though, she wanted to see if she could figure it out.

"Nowhere," she said finally "You just left the door open" she lied quickly before he realized that something wasn't right.

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Hope you liked it, Review if you want :)


	6. Chapter 6: The Diagnosis

this is really short and late because I've been busy and been on holiday

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**I don't mind spending every day  
out on your corner in the pouring rain  
look for the girl with the broken smile  
ask her if she wants to stay awhile  
**She Will Be Loved, Maroon 5

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Amber was wary around Alfie now she knew something was wrong and that he could turn any minute, last night when they had been lying on the sofa holding hands, his grip on her tightened and the blood stopped circulating she felt very faint for a few minutes until he let her go, this was a regular thing. Most of the time Alfie was happy but then again he could have been too happy.

When Alfie went to work, Amber went to the library and started doing some research, she hadn't often paid attention in health class otherwise what she discovered wouldn't have been a surprise, she was fairly convinced that what Alfie was experiencing was serious but she needed more proof, so she wrote a letter to the hospital.

Dear Whomever it may concern,  
I am worried about my friends health, he is having constant mood swings and he can sometimes be threatening yet other times he is perfectly fine being his happy and cheerful self. I'm scared and I would appreciate it if you could get back to me with an analysis or a diagnosis please,  
Yours Faithfully,  
Amber Millington

She walked to the nearest post box and sent it away the next few days were long as she waited. Finally three days later a letter dropped through the door addressed to her.

Dear Miss Millington,  
We have received your letter and regret to make the following diagnosis.  
Your friend is showing all the symptoms of bipolar disorder, we would appreciate it if he could come to the hospital to do a check on him to see if our assumptions are correct, please call to book an appointment.  
We Hope to See You Soon,  
Dr. G. Harrison

Amber dropped the letter in realization, she had thought this all along but there was something different about having it proved, somehow she felt worse now knowing, she only wondered if he knew.

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	7. Chapter 7: Getting Along

Set directly after Alfie's doctors appointment {heavy emphasis on bipolar disorder}

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**I wish someone would find me  
and help me gain control  
before I lose my reason  
and my soul  
**King Midas in Reverse, Hollies

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Alfie didn't trust Amber as much after the hospital appointment; Alfie had officially been diagnosed with bipolar but his case was rare and could potentially be extremely dangerous. His mania was only very mild, but his depressions were bordering on fatal.

"Why didn't you just tell me Amber" he questioned

"I didn't want to worry you" she replied

"You think that I would worry less if I knew I could be a danger to you than knowing that I was after something happened" he said firmly

"I suppose so" she answered "I'm sorry"

Alfie reached his arms around her neck and she stretched hers around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder, they remained like this for a few seconds.

"I got a job" Amber piped up after a moment's silence to generate a subject change.

"Are you serious" Alfie said "That's great"

"It's just down in the local shop but I'm trying to get back on my feet" she replied "I'm starting tomorrow"

They held hands as they walked back to Alfie's apartment, Part of the reason Amber wanted a job was because she felt guilty about intruding on Alfie's life so she thought she could get out as soon as she could, but also she needed time away from Alfie to research more into his bipolar disorder, there was something about it that didn't seem right, it all seemed too fast, bipolar was supposed to be a long term cycle but Alfie's were occurring in the space of a few hours, sometimes even minutes. Somehow Amber thought that maybe this wasn't what the doctors were saying it was, maybe it was something more sinister than that.

Amber called into the corner shop on her way back to the flat leaving Alfie to walk the rest of the way himself. She bought a bottle of water and a bag of dried raisins; she was famished as she hadn't eaten for a majority of the day.

When Amber arrived back, she was astonished to hear a loud banging coming from Alfie's room followed by the sound of sobs, she ran in to see what was going on. She discovered Alfie perched on the side of his bed periodically banging his head of the wall, she knew that this was his depression and knew that it would settle but as she was getting ready to leave her eyes were drawn to something in the drawer, lying there small, shiny and black, was a gun.

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	8. Chapter 8: Cooperire

directly after the previous chapter, the start may be a little boring but stick with it {mild language and weaponry)

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**The world was wide, too late to try  
the tour was over we'd survived  
I couldn't wait till I got home  
to pass the time in my room alone  
**Adam's Song, Blink 182

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"Alfie" she said cautiously "What's going on?"

Alfie jumped backwards with fright when Amber approached him but almost instantly calmed down and shut the open drawer, this was the first thing that Amber took note of: He only seemed to be depressed whenever he was alone.

"Nothing" Alfie replied casually as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, "I was just waiting for you to get back"

Amber shrugged in agreement but she definitely wasn't convinced. She needed all the time away from him that she could get and hope that he hadn't killed himself by the time she got back.

During her lunch break Amber took the liberty of heading to the library to do some research on Alfie's condition.

'can loneliness trigger bipolar' she typed into the search bar, damn, apparently it could, Amber knew that wasn't the right wording but she didn't know what to type to convey what she was thinking inside. Maybe a doctor wasn't the right person to go to maybe she should have gone somewhere more 'specialist'.

Amber's lunch break was nearing its end and she needed to return from the library to get back and busied with work.

On the way back to the apartment, Alfie and her were growing closer, she had stopped referring to it as Alfie's apartment and was now just the apartment, she was thinking a great deal about Alfie and how she still didn't know what was wrong with him, she had stayed a little later at work which meant that Alfie would be home first, she thought about how she was going to discover him when she got back. She called into a coffee shop on her way down the main street mainly just to bide herself some more time.

She wasn't sure what to expect whenever she arrived back but what she found shocked even her, who had definitely experienced the ups and downs of life.

She could hear the sound of heavy breathing and a soft drip coming from Alfie's bedroom. She headed towards his door and saw a pool of crimson blood staining the floor, as she flung the door open a shriek left her mouth. Alfie was lying there motionless other than the movement of his chest up and down, with the gun in his hand. She knew that he was still alive, she could hear him bleeding, she hurriedly called an ambulance and sat down in the living room in shock as she waited for them to arrive.

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thanks for reading, feel free to review :)


	9. Chapter 9: Uncovering The Truth

really should have uploaded this yesterday but anyway {contains mentions of drugs and sex}

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**Lights will guide you home  
and ignite your bones  
and I will try to fix you  
**Fix You, Coldplay

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Amber sat by the hospital bed where Alfie was lying almost completely unconscious. She took his hand but dropped it almost instantly as it was ice cold. She turned her head to see a doctor walking up to them.

"Well," Amber asked

"Sorry dear," the nurse replied, "can I ask you something?"

Amber nodded in agreement, "If it helps Alfie."

"Has he been acting strangely before his suicide attempt" the nurse asked.

"He has bipolar, but" Amber said but then stopped suddenly as she didn't know how to finish the sentence.

"We've scanned his brain and there is no evidence of bipolar," the nurse replied, "That's why we were confused"

"I never thought it was bipolar anyway" Amber said "but what is it?"

"There was something in his blood" the nurse said seriously.

Amber stared at her with her jaw dropped; she knew it couldn't have been bipolar but she thought it had been some other type of brain disorder, but not the blood.

"Do you know anything about this?" the nurse said. Amber shook her head but then paused to think, she cast her mind back to her last night on the streets before Alfie found her, when she was being chased by the gang. She strained her brain trying to remember what they had said,

"We've got the drug now what do we do with it" she recalled one of them saying,

"How about her" the next one said,

"Yeah we can keep her to test her as well" the third replied

"And she looks pretty too so we can do her when we're bored"

"Yeah she'll be perfect"

Amber blinked as she came back from her head, she breathed heavily as the realization kicked in,

"What is it sweetie," the nurse said, sounding concerned, "is this about Alfie?"

"The gang," she replied frantically "they had a drug"

"What type of drug?" the doctor asked calmly

"I don't know that's when I ran"

The doctor looked at her confused "Are you okay dear" she replied but she could see that she wasn't, amber had her head resting in the palm of her hands and was shaking it back and forth,

"He rescued me," she almost screamed "so they drugged him instead"

The doctor dragged Amber over to the closest seat and sat her down "stay here and compose yourself" she said but Amber wasn't ready to calm herself, this had all been her fault, she should have just gone with the men risking her own life, Alfie would still be conscious if it wasn't for her, that's what she was telling herself anyway, whether or not it was true was still to be determined.

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	10. Chapter 10: Eyes

Alfie has undergone many procedures to remove all of the toxins from his blood

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**I'm lying in the hospital  
I'm pinned against the bed  
a stethoscope upon my heart  
a hand against my head**  
Gary Gilmore's Eyes, Adverts

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Alfie was lying there; Amber flopped on the bed next to him. Alfie had undergone serious medical procedures but finally all of the toxins had been cleared from his blood and were being taken to a lab for tests, he was well again but weary from the tests that had been done on him, Amber was perfectly fine but she felt as though all of this was her fault so she had been diagnosed with a very mild case of clinical depression.

She heard several groans and stirring from the bed next to her and she flipped around to see Alfie struggling and gradually raising himself up to a sitting position. She scrambled of the bed and crawled over to his bed, kneeling beside him on the floor.

"Amber" he sighed sleepily looking into her eyes.

"Hi, Alfie" she replied smiling back at him.

"It's good to see your face again" he said almost jokingly.

Amber shook her head gently as a smile started growing on her face.

"How long have I been out for" he asked

"Just a couple of days" she replied "but I've been really worried"

"How did it all happen?"

"I think I'll leave that to the professionals to tell you that" she said with a hint of worry in her voice,

"Amber," Alfie replied, sensing her worry, "it doesn't matter, don't worry"

"Of course it matters Alfie" she nearly yelled "you were nearly dead" her words choked up at the end and she reached her hand up and touched her throat to soothe it.

"Hey" Alfie said softly, tilting her head towards him, staring into her beautiful grey eyes. He reached his head down and pressed his lips against hers, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself up onto his knee as she intensified the kiss, they broke the kiss, gazed into each other's eyes and smiled, Amber's hair flailing in her face as she shied away from him. He lifted his hand and swept the hair away.

"You are beautiful, you know that right" Alfie said,

Amber giggled and then turned her head to find one of the nurses heading their way.

"You're free to go now" she said briefly checking something on the clipboard and then leaving.

"Well, let's go then" Alfie said,

"You may want to get changed first" Amber teased,

"Good idea," Alfie agreed jokingly "I'll be back in a minute"

Amber sat back down on the bed waiting, she had a feeling that life was going to get a lot better from now on.

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thanks for reading, feel free to review if you enjoyed it :)


	11. Epilogue: Listen To The Bells

really should have had this uploaded a couple of days ago but better late than never, just a short epilogue to round the story off

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**You're everything I hope for  
****you're everything I need  
****you are so beautiful to me  
**You Are So Beautiful, Joe Cocker

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The bells were chiming as a mass of white satin piled through the doors or the old church. Alfie was waiting patiently at the front with his best friend at his side, holding his arm to calm him,

"This is it" he sighed as he heard fumbling from behind the closed doors, the organ started to play as the doors opened, the bridesmaids came in first, waltzing down the aisle and following behind them was the most beautiful bride Alfie had ever seen.

"Wow" the words slipped out of his mouth as he caught her gaze through her veil. She walked up to face him and he lifted it from over her eyes. She smiled at him and he smiled back, he knew that she was the most beautiful thing that he had ever seen.

The ceremony began and after what seemed like an hour, finally they reached the vows.

"Do you, Alfred Marmaduke Lewis, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife" the vicar said

"I do" he replied.

"And do you, Amber Marie Millington, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband"

"I do" she said.

"I know pronounce you man and wife" the vicar said, "you may kiss the bride"

Alfie's lips were upon Amber's before the vicar had finished speaking the words, they were no longer Alfie Lewis and Amber Millington. They were Mr. and Mrs. Lewis and they knew that they would be until the day that they died.

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Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, please review if you did :)


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